Each touch upon the surface (touches my heart)
by Dilandau Albatou
Summary: A Dilandau romance..rated R for some thoughts/actions of Dilandau's in later chapters. Third chapter newly added.
1. Creature of darkness

Disclaimer - Escaflowne and characters mentioned here (with the exception of Lani) do not belong to me, nor do the song lyrics from "What is a youth?" of the 1968 version of "Romeo and Juliet". Just wanted to let you know =). Please enjoy the story.  
  
Foreground - This story features the Dilandau/Lani romance from "Blood, Sorrow, and Rage", but is in a totally different setting. The story still takes place in Zaibach, but other than that, not much of the setting is even the same.   
  
  
"What is a youth? Impetuous fire. What is a maid? Ice and Desire. The world wags on, a rose will bloom ...It then will fade; so does a youth, so does the fairest maid."  
  
  
  
Shielding his eyes from the radiant sun, a slim, pale boy stepped out of the dark alley way and into the crowded streets of Zaibach. He shuddered to himself, finding the brilliant color of the morning exhausting. Wrapping his billowing cloak around his fragile body, he sought to retire from the city life as quickly as possible.  
  
The boy broke away from the common traders and craftsman, heading toward his own personal Brahmin*. Along back paths and more dark alley ways, lied a place that the sun's rays couldn't touch. Not a single star shone in this dark, cold, and sacred land. Only the villians of deepest shame and nightmares were aloud to walk upon it's scorched surface. Admitted was the fiery tyrant, Dilandau Albatou.  
  
Small and vulnerable, a wooden house stood upon the forbidden lands. The boy retired into the house, closing the door after him. Settling himself onto a chair, he unfastened the cloak from around his neck. He propped his elbows on the table, and set his head on top of his knuckles.  
  
Image upon image of a girl he had. Skin pale and glowing such as his. Short, straight auburn hair. Seemingly silky body. An angel of desire.  
  
Often had this girl crossed his mind. The image of her caused his heart to soar. Never had he spoken to her before, but he knew that any words from her very mouth were ones that he needed to hold on to. This pure heart was not one of the common herd.  
  
Nestling himself into the comfort and warmth of the chair, he slowly closed his eyes, and began to drift off to sleep. His dreams were far more of a paradise than his own impractical being. Sustaining him were only the images of his angel of desire. Losing her he simply could not be.   
  
Awakened hours later by a pounding on his door, the boy became irritable. Rarely did he receive visitors worth while; usually they were only from curious children wondering if the shack was yet abandoned. Stepping out of his chair, the boy rose up to answer the caller. All at once, he had a feeling of immense impracticality. Sensing..knowing..the owner of the knock was his angel of desire. 


	2. Angel of Desire

Grabbing the knob of the door slowly, Dilandau procrastinated it's opening. What business here for her? How had she found him? Questions swam through his head. Gaining up his courage, opened the door finally was.  
  
"Hello. Dilandau Albatou, I presume?" asked a slim, pale girl of about fifteen years of age. Taken back, shock flew through Dilandau's veins. The angel he'd been watching for years was here. Knew his name. To much to take in at once.  
  
Curiousity crossed the girl's face. "Are you feeling alright?" All the boy could muster was a slight nod. Immediately his glance fell to the floor. 'Why am I being such a dumb ass?' He asked himself privately, just wishing that the caller would leave him in peace.  
  
Side stepping around Dilandau, the girl entered his house. "Oh! I'm sorry, I haven't introduced myself yet. My name is Lani. I read your poem in the journal a few weeks ago. It was beautiful..it really touched my heart. You should become a writer, you know."   
  
For the first time, Dilandau raised his head to look at her. He realized that she was wet; her hair was dripping from the cruel tyrant of rain. "..Thanks, I suppose." Was all he could reply to such a compliment, seeing as he'd never really gotten one before.  
  
Smiling, the girl leaned up against a wall. "Not to freak you out or anything, but I've seen you around town, and I've been dying to meet you. I never really had the courage to just walk up to you and talk, though. Took nearly a month to find your house. No one seemed to know where you lived, even though you write for the Zaibach journal on a regular basis. Had to find it for myself." She concluded, tapping her hand against the wood of the back wall.   
  
"Well, I like to be secluded." Dilandau replied, not meaning to sound as harsh as he had. Lani looked a little bit stunned, and even disappointed. "Really, I am sorry to bother you, then..I just really wanted to tell you how great of a writer you are. Not to mention attractive.." she said, gaining a little bit of pink to each of her cheeks.   
  
"..You're all wet." Dilandau commented, feeling uncomfortable. Grabbing the cloak from around the chair he'd napped in, he wrapped it around Lani's shoulders, fastening it at the neck. Shocked was he, as Lani grabbed his hand with her own. Tinges of coldness crossed his fingers, as they intertwined with the girl's.   
  
Sensing that he was uncomfortable, Lani let go of his hand. "..I'm..I'm sorry. I should get going now." She remarked, handing Dilandau back his cloak. She walked out the door, and out of his life (for the moment ^.~). 


	3. Tyrants of nature

Early morning settled on all of Zaibach, bathing the city in radiant light. Sunlight poured into Dilandau's small wooden house, causing him to shelter his eyes with his arm. Was the night before all some morbid dream? He pondered to himself. Trying to convince him self that Lani had been a dream was the most difficult task he'd ever been given. So very real was she, indeed..  
  
Enveloping him self in the dark cloak which draped over his chair, Dilandau stepped outside into his meadow. Raindrops dangled and hung from tree branches, signaling that the tyrants of nature had struck the night before. Grasping a leaf from one of the trees, Dilandau sipped the cool rainwater with ecstasy.   
  
Pausing beside a puddle, Dilandau studied his face in a new light. Pink colored eyes stared back at him, as if peering into his very soul. Scarcely he could see a brandish he'd received two years before. Outlining the thin scar on his cheek, Dilandau called upon his feared memories of the past.  
  
Two years earlier, Dilandau had come to know a noble King by the name of Van Fanel. How the villian scarred his face, showing no mercy in his piercing eyes..Dilandau could still not find it in his miniscule heart to forgive that beast.   
  
Hastily Dilandau turned his back and heart from the puddle of hatred. "Bastard!" he screamed with pure malice. Waves of pain spread throughout his entire body; feelings of poisonous blood clotted his body, mind, and soul. Grabbing his head with both hands, he fell to the ground, wallowing in sorrow.  
  
Time could not be comprehended once Dilandau had finally awakened from his somber rest. Streaks of thin mist surrounded the entire continent, opening the idea of dusk to all who lived there. Settling himself into a straight-up position, Dilandau placed his head in his palms, concentrating on the image of the angel of desire who'd ascended to his territory the last night. Deciding to believe that she really had been there would help Dilandau get through the night, and the rest of his life.. 


	4. Give way to your heart

Piercing darkness turned it's head upon the land in which the fiery slayer called his abode. Twinkling stars appeared beyond his window, opening his mind to luscious ideas of the lady in which he'd call his own, given the simple choice.   
  
Long and difficult were the nights in which Dilandau Albatou was empty. Drinking his soul was the accursed guardian of love. With all the strength he could muster, the soldier cursed this putrid human emotion. Refused he was not 'just human', he indeed often had.   
  
Many a' nights hath it been since his Angel had visited his doorstep. His heart could not be content with this instance. Lani was what his mind, body, and very soul demanded. Problem was it that she likely was immune to this dreadful request...  
  
  
Cold and shaken, a bright young lady retired to a deserted, wooden shack buried in a tremendous woods. Would her dearest thought, memory, and being give acceptance to her entry? Without the caress of the swallow tyrant she'd come to love, Lani felt in her heart she could simply not exist...  
  
Upon the rickety door of the slayer's home came a pounding. Who could possibly call upon him at this time? Late into the hours was it indeed. Giving way to the intruder, the door slammed open all at once.   
  
Entering his home was the Angel he'd dreamed of for many nights. Thinking was denied. The silver-haired criminal rushed to Lani's aid, pressing his lips tightly up against her's, all principles being pushed aside.  
  
Instance upon instance froze time. Bodies against each other, the unlikely pair stood against the wall, daring not to move from each other; for fear of being taken back by the moment... 


End file.
